On 5/2/07, Ken Arromdee arromdee@rahul.net wrote:
On Wed, 2 May 2007, David Gerard wrote:
People, we *have* a process for deleting articles that are legally questionable. It's called [[WP:OFFICE]]. Out of process speedy deletion is not it.
I believe (a) that's process over product (b) your views are completely at odds with the way things actually work, and you should consider that maybe that's not horrifying.
It's not at odds with how things work in cases like this, because there aren't a lot of cases like this. Following process is more important when there is controversy.
And following process is important, not as "process over product", but because it means some accountability, even if only that whoever follows the process risks losing credibility if he/they publically stand behind a bad decision. *Not* following process in controversial cases like this is a way to avoid blame for mistakes.
Following process is also less subject to a slippery slope; one big out of process deletion may lead to others in the future, each one just a bit harder to justify, until the whole thing collapses.
If deleting something illegal is "out of process", process is broken and should be ignored. (And possibly changed. Either way, the result should be the same.)
I see posts further in the thread going on about how admins can't be trusted to determine what's illegal. This is no argument, however, for not requiring that what actually is illegal shouldn't be deleted. If someone makes a mistake in judging that, correct it. The world doesn't end if something is down for a few hours or a few days that in the long run shouldn't be.
Look, I'm no fan of the DMCA anti-circumvention rules; neither, I suspect, are most of us. But Wikipedia is not a venue for unrestricted free speech or for copyfight activism through civil disobedience; that's just not what we do. We're a venue to create an encyclopedia under a free content license, as an alternative to the content only available within the current heavy-handed and wasteful system of copyright, and we're actively trying to encourage more content be created with the same freedoms -- which people on all sides of these disputes should be able to support.
Hosting illegal content doesn't help us do that. Doing so would only give fodder to the people who want to accuse us of being bad citizens or socially irresponsible, and we depend on the perception that we're trying to act responsibly within the current system to have some of the leverage that we have in encouraging the creation of free content. The community deletes things it believes to be illegal and always has, though it strikes more of a nerve in some cases than others.
To the extent that Wikipedia is fighting the current system of copyright, we do it through making alternatives viable -- accepting only free content that can't legally be locked up with DRM, using only formats that don't require proprietary software or patent licenses. That method is weakened if people try to take on the current system head-on through the site, also.
-Kat "To enjoy freedom, [...] we have of course to control ourselves." -- Virginia Woolf